10 Fun and Interesting Games for One Year Olds

Read on some really fun and interesting games for one year olds. Below is a list of some really cool games your 1 year old would love to play. You don’t need much time or stuff to play these games, they just need little planning and time. So why wait !! Just get ready to have some real fun with your little ones.

When kids turn one, usually we parents start looking for some games we can play with them so that their energy can be put in some real fun and learning which in turn helps in their growth. The first mantra is talk as much as you can with your toddler. You might think what should I talk? No worries, you can name the small objects around him, sing rhymes, read books, talk him as if he is a grown up, ask him whether he is feeling hungry and want to have an apple, whether he wants to go for shopping, or want to go to park etc. So keep talking to your little ones and spend as much time as you can. Go outdoor or play indoor, let them explore and learn. Kids are great explorers and fast learners, let them learn about the world around them in their own way.

Here is a list of best games for one year olds

Roll it to me

Balls are popular toys for one year olds. Preferably ball should be small that kid can hold in his hands and of bright colour (red, orange). It should be soft and chewable with nontoxic colours because the baby will naturally try out its taste and texture with his mouth. Babies enjoy rolling balls along their high-chair trays or on the floor. They also enjoy taking the ball back from under the chair or table. They also like having the balls rolled back to them. Make a circle of two or three people along with kid and keep passing the ball. Kid will enjoy the activity and will learn to play with others.

The activity will enhance fine motor skills and social skills in kids.

Catch the Balloon

Kids love Balloons and are great for indoor play. They move slowly enough to be chased and are relatively easy to catch. Blow one up, to your toddler’s delight, and pat it up into the air and let your toddler try to catch it.

This is a great game to help develop gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

If the balloon does pop, make sure you pick up all the little pieces, and put any in-popped balloons out of reach until next time.

What’s in your box?

Go for a walk with your kid and take a box with you. Encourage your toddler to be curious and point out small and interesting objects that you see along the way such as stones, flowers, leaves, bird feathers and pine cones etc. Describe them to your little one as you put them in your box. Your toddler may well want to carry the box himself, but don’t be surprised if he suddenly decides to dump its contents and start again. At this age he’ll love to fill containers just so he can empty them again!

Meanwhile, he’s practicing his hand movements and building vocabulary.

Catch me if you can

Toddlers love to be chased and this is a great way of using up some of that endless energy with physical play. The idea is to be caught, with the reward of a huge hug and a kiss for your little one every time you catch him.

For extra excitement, pretend to be an animal, such as a lion or a cat. Change the sides so your toddler has to chase and catch you.

A great game for building up your toddler’s gross motor skills and stamina. Easy exercise for you too :-).

Baby Play Station made with toilet rolls

A wonderful idea to keep your one year old busy. Just take the waste toilet paper rolls and wrap them in a nice attractive coloured papers (be careful about the choking hazards, do not use beads or something that can easily be taken out with little hands and be extra careful about the sharp edges, make the edges as smooth as possible) and then put the rolls on a curtain rod and then let them roll it.

Be ready to watch them enjoying.

Another interesting way to use the toilet rolls is wrap them in attractive, bright coloured papers and show your kid to make a building with the help of these. Just keep the rolls one over the other. Your kid will soon try to imitate you and would love to make a tower on his own.

Let’s Knock them down

This activity is so simple and very quick to start with. You can play this game with recycled old plastic cups. Just keep the cups in a shape of a pyramid and ask your toddler to kick it with hand or with the help of a ball.

When he will see he can kick them all what you will have is giggles all around and a lovely smile on your toddler’s face.

A wonderful fun game with small learning. Your kid learns how to throw a ball.

Easy Game

What you all need is a plastic container and some small objects or toys of your kid. You may buy some plastic eggs from market or simply use coins or pom pom for this game.

Just grab your stuff and show your kid how to drop an egg or coin or pom pom with hands in a container and then ask him whether he can do like this?

If you are playing with coins please use some big plastic coins of different colours. To make the game more challenging in an old carton you can make a small slit and then show your kid how to drop a coin in the box.

He surely loves to give it a try and will be busy for some time in keeping the things in a container.

At first instant he may not like it and after some attempts he does not want to play it anymore, but no worries. You can again play this game after some time.

Activity Box

Your 1 year old is surely gonna love this game. Just take a cardboard box and cut some slits and tie some threads or ribbons on it. Leave it for baby to undo it and untie the ribbons.

In another cardboard box you can make slits in a shape of a circle, square and diamond. Show them how to drop shapes in box and let them wonder where it goes? Let them enjoy the dropping activity and keep them engage in a fun and learning game.

If you have number of colourfull balls, take a big cardboard box make big holes so that balls can pass through it. Just show your kid how to insert the ball in the hole and leave the game for him. While playing you can keep singing the rhymes or can talk about the colors of the balls.

Tunnel game

There are various type of tunnels available in market. Just buy one for your kid. Your kid gonna love to go inside it and will explore where it goes. Kids love to go inside the tunnel and very good for their gross motor skills as they need to crawl inside the tunnel.

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An MBA Professional, used to work with bank in Forex deptt. I am a mother of a 2 ½ year old kid. In my spare time I Love to travel, read books and gardening. Great fan of Dan Brown and Jeffrey Archer novels.

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